


5 times Ladybug saves Chat Noir with a kiss and 1 time he remembers

by plikki



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: 5+1 Things, F/M, Identity Reveal, Kissing, a hint of angst, because I'm weak
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-09
Updated: 2021-01-09
Packaged: 2021-03-13 00:35:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,448
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28644555
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/plikki/pseuds/plikki
Summary: Kissing Chat one time to save him and it working was good luck and could be easily excused, Marinette believed. What about when it happened again and again?
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 45
Kudos: 249





	5 times Ladybug saves Chat Noir with a kiss and 1 time he remembers

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Marlynmiro](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marlynmiro/gifts).



> Um, so I wrote it. This is the longest one-shot I've written in... a very long time, hah. Maybe I should have expected it, but wow! Anyway, six kisses (or more) to fulfil your prompt! This was so much fun and it made me feel so many things, so I hope it's what you imagined!

1.

The sense of deja-vu was strong, for sure. Marinette could feel fear race through her because she’d never thought she’d come to be this close to Cataclysm while being threatened by it, again. Chat was holding her in place and she had nowhere to run away to. It was all happening in frustrating slow motion at this point, driving her crazy. If this was it, she wanted it to be over.

It didn’t matter that Chat wasn’t under the influence of the akuma but only a victim of it. He was still looking at her with surprisingly clear eyes, focused on the task at hand. But it wasn’t really him, right? She didn’t have to feel guilty for fighting him or even hurting him if this was the only way for her to stay safe.

Her mind once again flashed back to the very similar situation during the fight with Dark Cupid. She hadn’t hesitated then and it had worked. She’d kissed Chat, without his consent, but it had been the only way out. It was strange how the moral compass tended to change direction depending on the situation one was in. Death and in her case, the threat of losing her Miraculous and letting Hawk Moth win, were good incentive to act against her better judgement. 

She could do it again, she thought as her eyes fell on his lips. Was it different because she knew that he wouldn’t mind if he knew she had to do this? She’d just done it the previous time, not allowing herself to think about it too much, although she’d lost her own first kiss in the process. It should be easier now, something familiar. 

Marinette could practically feel the deadly energy in Chat’s hand, so close and so undoubtedly lethal. He was also done gloating about his impending victory so she didn’t have much time. She took a steadying breath and grabbed his face, pulling him down to her. She saw panic flitter across his features but dismissed it. And then her lips were on his. It didn’t require much, just a simple touch that wouldn’t _(shouldn’t)_ leave a permanent trace in her mind. 

But she already knew she’d remember it, the way she remembered the first one. It was a little spark, a shot of heat to her very core, because there was no way around it, _she was kissing him, for goodness sake!_

Then it was over. She let go when she saw his eyes cloud over with confusion as he returned to his self. She didn’t leave him time to question the position they were in or what had happened. The akuma was approaching anyway, so she needed him. She pushed him aside while rattling off instructions, burying her own feelings and misgivings deep inside for later consumption. As quickly as it had started, it was over and they were back to business.

2.

The next time it happened, Marinette had even less time to think about it. She was trying to sneak a peek at the akuma from behind a chimney, cursing once again their mind-controlling powers. It was always harder to take down one person when they had an army of mindless zombies doing the hard work for them, while she had only Chat and sometimes not even him.

When she felt two arms close around her from behind, she didn’t panic at first. She did wonder what he was thinking doing this, since they had a much more important work to do, but she didn’t jump to the obvious conclusion until she felt how different it was. She knew how it felt to be hugged by him, she knew the calming effect his gentle touch had on her, making her feel like she belonged there (she’d been paying much more attention to it than she realised, obviously). 

This wasn’t like this. It was uncharacteristically rough for him, jostling her. 

“What do we have here?” He said in her ear and his voice was the second thing that tipped her off. It was derisive and crude, light years away from his typical friendly teasing. This was when she knew she was in trouble. Again. She was trapped and while she knew she was not helpless against him in combat, she knew he had the advantage of surprise. Her only option was to surprise him herself and act before he could retaliate. _Again._

It felt easier, in a way, she thought when she used all her strength to turn around in his arms. The moral dilemma was almost non-existent, it also felt familiar. She didn’t even give him a chance to speak further before she rose on her tiptoes and pressed her lips to his. 

There, fast and effective, she thought when he shook his head, trying to clear it of the akuma’s influence, his arms no longer holding her like a vice. It shouldn’t become a habit and she’d already kissed him what, three times? (four, if she counted the one she didn’t remember). But when push came to shove, she knew what to do.

3.

It turned out, it didn’t necessarily become easier with time. Yes, it was already familiar and she was sure she’d never make him angry if he knew what she’d done to save him (she’d seen this in action thanks to Nadja Chamack), but she’d faced an unexpected obstacle. 

It was all in her head of course, but it was as scary as a monster chasing her. So here she was, on the run from Chat, who’d taken another hit for her, becoming a marionette of the latest akumatised villain. She was running not from him, because she knew how to deal with him, she was trying to outrun her own feelings this time, which proved to be surprisingly hard.

It had been there all along, staring her in the face, but she’d been too blind to notice it. The very first time she’d decided to kiss him because she knew that true love’s kiss conquered all evil. Not just any kiss, _true love_ ’s kiss. If she’d been more in tune with herself she would have realised what the fact that it worked meant back then. She didn’t question it even the second and third time.

But now she knew, she realised that there was more at work here. It was awfully convenient that she could just kiss the evil away, she didn’t even have to hurt him. It wasn’t unpleasant as well ( _There Marinette, admit it_ ). But what did it mean for her that it worked? She wasn’t willing to go and test her theory on someone else (which was telling in itself), so she could only speculate, but once the thought that appeared in her mind, she couldn’t unthink it. 

If it worked, this meant she loved him. She wanted to convince herself that this could mean all kinds of love, but she somehow knew this wasn’t the case. She was too scared to tackle the mess that were her feelings for him, now more than ever, but unsurprisingly her instinct had been to get as far away from him as possible. Which was not convenient since she was only prolonging the inevitable, engaging in this game of cat and mouse (the irony wasn’t lost on her). 

She knew she had to face him, to just get it over with. After all, their Miraculouses were more important than whatever her feelings for him were anyway (right?) She was the guardian, she should be able to put mind over matter and just act. 

It was the anger shooting through her that gave her the resolve she needed. Hawk Moth was to blame for all of this and the sooner she put an end to games, the better. She couldn’t actually say he was responsible for her feelings for her partner, this was all on her, but if it hadn’t been for him, she never would have met him! So it was his fault!

Marinette scowled and threw herself at Chat, who was closing in and really caught by surprise by her sudden willingness to present herself to him. Again, she acted before he could react, before she could think too much. 

She’d deal with the lingering feeling of his lips against hers later (did it really have to feel this good, it was hardly fair). Once he was free of the akuma’s influence, it was easier to pretend nothing had happened since he didn’t remember it. But she knew and she couldn’t run away from herself (as much as she wanted to do it).

4.

Marinette wasn’t exactly at peace with her newfound feelings for Chat. She didn’t allow herself to dwell too much on the realisation anyway because she didn’t know what to do about it. It was scary and wrong. It was what she’d been trying to avoid all this time, for various reasons, their safety and the world’s future being the most important ones. 

But she was a superhero, right? She could push aside the emotions and follow reason. This was what every superhero had to do, this was what she believed from the beginning. She was also smarter than she gave herself credit for, she could think of another way to get out of situations if she tried hard enough.

She tried. She tried talking to Chat. She tried cajoling him, when this didn’t work, she tried threatening him. But while she was still reasonable (she hoped), he wasn’t so this was the big hole in her plan. He didn’t have anything to lose, he had only one purpose - take her Miraculous, and he didn’t want to listen.

Fighting him was exhausting. She tried, but she had to admit her forte wasn’t physical confrontation, she’d always been the mastermind. He was too fast and too skilled for her. 

So when she ran out of options, she again got back to the original plan. It wasn’t fair to him to just kiss him and pretend nothing had happened (funny how she’d had less qualms about this before), but it was obviously the only effective way. At least he had no way of finding out about her tactic, right?

So next time he came close enough, she gave up. She did what she had to do, hoping against hope that the latest kiss wouldn’t make it even harder to pretend she didn’t feel what she felt. It should be getting easier every time, out of familiarity, instead it was getting harder, because now it meant so much more than it had at the beginning. 

She kissed him again, trying to block out everything about the act and failing spectacularly. She knew the memory of how his lips felt would chase her to the end of the world if she tried to outrun it. She was so screwed. 

5.

Hawk Moth wasn’t thinking clearly if he kept terrorising a whole city and fighting two teenagers for their magic jewels, this had been clear from the start. But he’d somehow managed to convince them he had an agenda, that he didn’t just randomly akumatise people, blindly looking for the right one. Although if this was the case, what would explain Mr. Pigeon?

They didn’t know how much he could see through the akuma’s eyes, how much he knew about them. But Marinette had a feeling he was onto something. Where did all the mind-controlling akumas come from otherwise? He’d found her weakness and was exploiting it, there was no other explanation. Or she was just getting paranoid.

She cursed under her breath when Chat got hit, _again_ , although she had to admit it was still better than it being her. She didn’t want to think about what he would do to bring her back from the evil side. (Or she wanted to, but shouldn’t).

This time she didn’t think twice, she didn’t pause, she just ran to him and pulled him down to her. Even if the softness of his lips and that hint of a taste she felt every time drove her crazy, she pushed it aside. She was doing it to save him, it was true, her feelings and her weakness didn’t matter.

But when he came up for air and back to his senses, she felt an unexpected pain shoot through her. She was the only one who had to bear the burden of all this. He conveniently forgot it every time. It was good, because it saved her a lot of embarrassment. Then why did the confusion in his eyes hurt so much? The fact that the last minute hadn’t registered at all in his mind, while it meant the world to her, was too much to swallow. 

For the first time she wondered how much longer she could keep up. How much longer could she fool herself that she didn’t want to feel what it would be like for him to kiss her back?

+1.

Adrien tried to gauge the akuma’s intentions but everything happened too fast. In the last moment, all he could think about was getting Ladybug out of the way. It didn’t matter if he was hit, she had to be safe. 

As luck would have it, the akuma missed by very little. When he rolled over and got up, he was surprised to feel like his normal self. He turned around to let his lady know about this happy development, but swayed on his feet when she tackled him. 

He didn’t have time to tell her anything, he was too surprised, and then it was too late. She was kissing him! He had no idea what had gotten into her head, it was the middle of the battle and she was not impulsive in general and why would she be kissing him anyway???

He froze, not sure what to do about this. But then it was over too soon. He could just look at her and blink, waiting for an explanation that never came. She looked at him for only a second, an inscrutable look on her face, before she was back to business, giving orders.

Adrien did his best to remain present, to help her defeat the akuma. But the kiss couldn’t leave his mind. He needed an explanation. He had a feeling something had gotten wrong or the wires had crossed, but the only one who could clear this up was her.

So when the fight was over, he stopped her.

“M’lady, I have to ask you something.” He didn’t know what the right order was in such situations. How did one go around asking someone else why they had kissed them? Wasn’t it clear most of the time? 

“What is it, kitty?” She looked like she wanted to leave but still stayed.

“Earlier, during the fight, something happened. You- you kissed me,” he said, feeling embarrassed to say it like that.

“You remember? You shouldn’t remember!” She looked terrified all of a sudden.

“What?” He asked, confused by her reaction.

“You never remembered the previous times,” she whispered, now looking really guilty. His mind screeched to a halt. Previous times? Did this mean she’d kissed him before? Yes, he knew he didn’t remember the first time, but times?

“Why shouldn’t I remember?” He asked.

“You were hit by the akuma,” she said slowly, as if explaining to a small child.

“No, I wasn’t.” He saw the realisation in her eyes.

“Oh dear!” She exclaimed, a hand covering her mouth. 

“I’m sorry, I was trying to tell you, but you were too fast and then…” It had been too late. She closed her eyes for a second, looking as if she was steeling herself for something unpleasant. He felt uneasiness creep up onto him.

“It’s what I have to do, Chat. Every time, it’s the only way to bring you back.” 

Her words hurt for some reason. He didn’t know what he’d expected to hear as an explanation for that kiss but hearing her say that it was all just part of her duty cut through him. Of course he should have known that it couldn’t be something else.

“I understand,” he said. 

“I’m sorry, I know it’s not fair..” 

“It’s ok, you do what you have to do,” he interrupted her. Listening to her apologise didn’t make him feel better. ”Thank you, it must be really hard for you.” He didn’t want to sound bitter but he couldn’t bring himself to do something about it. He saw something flicker across her eyes.

“I didn’t mean it like that,” she said softly. “It’s just that I feel guilty, since I can’t ask for your permission and..” She looked away, clearly embarrassed. Was she really worried she was forcing herself on him? Especially in a life-or-death situation.

“You know you can kiss me anytime, m’lady.” The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them. He’d meant to say something else to let her know it was alright, but not this!

The corner of her lips lifted as she looked at him again. Well, at least she wasn’t mad.

“Since you more or less asked for this, let’s see how it goes,” she said, taking a step towards him. He stared at her, trying to make sense of her words. She lifted her gloved hands to his face, touching him gently, while still watching him careful, as if expecting he’d run away. _Oh_.

When she moved closer, instinct told him to close his eyes. The touch of her lips followed soon after that. It was warm and soft and suddenly his whole body felt like a live wire. Another instinct made him wrap his arms around her and pull her closer. 

He didn’t freeze like last time. This time he wasn’t that surprised, even though he still felt confused. But the long-buried want inside of him didn’t let him hesitate. He’d waited too long for this moment to let it slip. So he kissed her back.

It made sense that people closed their eyes while kissing, a distant part of him thought. On the one hand, it would be really awkward to just stare at the person you were kissing. On the other, it allowed your other senses to take over, making the whole experience so much better. The touch of her lips, the taste that made his head spin, the subtle aroma of strawberries (maybe remnants of lip gloss or perfume) totally made up for not being able to look at her. 

“Oh wow,” she said when they pulled back, sounding just as breathless as he felt. “I knew it would be different if you kissed me back but.. Wow.”

Her cheeks were the most adorable pink hue, betraying her embarrassment at her admission. It was his turn to lift a hand to her cheek, wishing he could actually feel the warm skin without the glove in the way. 

“So you’ve thought about it?” He asked, feeling emboldened by her words.

“It’s too late to deny it, right?” She said, smiling shyly. 

Before he could say anything, they both jumped at the beeping of her earrings. 

“You should go,” he said, taking a step back to give her space. This hadn’t changed anything no matter how much he wished it was otherwise.

“What if I don’t want to go?” 

He couldn’t react, he just stared at her in shock. He must have heard wrong, it wasn’t possible.

“I realised something… The kisses worked because they were not just kisses,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. “It is because I love you that I could save you. So I don't want to run anymore.” 

Adrien was sure he’d replay that line for the rest of his life, over and over again, because it was the most beautiful thing in the world to reach his ears. But he could do it later. Now it was more important to show her how he felt, how his whole being was full of happiness to the point of bursting. She loved him!

“How many times?” He asked, praying for just a second more of restraint.

“F-five,” she replied, blushing again at the swiftness of her response. She’d counted.

So he kissed her this time. Making up for all the times he’d missed, one after the other. Before the fifth kiss, the blind light of her transformation made him pause. 

She looked up at him, wide-eyed and as beautiful as always. Marinette. He muttered his own transformation phase, his eyes never leaving hers and gave her a second to react. Her radiant smile was all he needed. So he kissed her again. It was as simple as that. 


End file.
